Friday, May 18, 2012

By June
3-24, 2012 “Barns and Beyond”-Watercolorists Unlimited (Lisa Walsh)

Lisa
Walsh, who heads the group “Watercolorists Unlimited”, will have a showing of
her group’s paintings. The reception is June 3 (1-3 PM). Refreshments will be
served.

The
following is an interview with Lisa Walsh:

How
and when did you get interested in forming this group?

I've been
involved with this group for 12 years. The original group formed 25 years ago,
this being our 25th anniversary year. There are still two members
who are original members. They are Bernice Fatto, and Wilma Shimer.

Have
you had formal art training?If so,
describe.

I majored in
art in college at The Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore. Many of
the painters in our group have been professional artists working in fields such
as textile design, graphic design and as art teachers.

The
work is in watercolor.Why do you prefer
this medium?

There is luminosity
to watercolor that you really can't achieve in any other medium.

How
does the group select subject matter for paintings?

We discuss it
at every meeting. We've kept a list of the subjects we've painted over the
years, and sometimes we'll go back to one we've done before.

What
artists have influenced or inspired the group?

Lucille Geiser was the original member of the group and she
is still quoted in some of our critiques. Also, Biff Hines was a great
influence to many of the members. But we are regularly influenced by one
another in our critiques.

In your
opinion, what is the relative importance of “raw talent” vs. training when it
comes to becoming an artist?Can a
person with modest talent benefit substantially from proper training, and does
a person with great talent require training?

I personally believe
that you learn through doing and seeing. I think we all get better by looking
at the other paintings in our group, and by hearing what others say about our
paintings. Critique is a great learning tool.

As part of the non-profit CAC, the Gourgaud
Gallery donates 20% of any art sales back to the CAC and its programs that
support and promote the Arts in our community. The Gallery is located in Town
Hall and is free and open to the public Mon- Fri from 9 AM. – 4 PM. and the
First, Third & Last Sunday of the month from 1-3 PM. New exhibit receptions
fall on the First Sunday from 1-3 PM , unless otherwise specified. You can meet
the exhibiting Artist(s). Refreshments are served at the Artist Reception.
Anyone wishing to exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery can obtain an application at
the Gallery or at www.cranbury.org. For information on upcoming programs and events, join us on
FACEBOOK: GOURGAUD GALLERY, and on the GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG at www.Gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com
. If you are interested in CAC membership or participating in any way, please
email us at cranburyartscouncil@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

"An Evening with George" at the Gourgaud GalleryThe Gourgaud Gallery will host a one night art
exhibit, featuring nearly 30 paintings by the late George Stave. This event,
"An Evening with George," will be held in the Gourgaud Gallery on June 1, Friday evening
from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The public is invited to view these privately owned
paintings and visit with the families who loaned the pieces. The exhibit was
curated by Mr. Stave's wife, Mabubeh Stave as a memorial to George and it offers
a rare opportunity to see Mr. Stave's work from private collections.

Mr. Stave was a prolific and highly respected painter. He was born July 29,
1923 in Los Angeles, CA. After growing up in Salinas, CA, he returned to Los
Angeles at the age of 17 as a scholarship student at the Chouinard Art
Institute. In his early 20's Mr. Stave worked as a set painter in the art
department of Paramount Studios and as a painting instructor at the Jepson Art
Institute. In 1949, he moved to Paris where he studied painting at the Academie
Julian. Mr. Stave was awarded a Fulbright Act grant in 1951 for a year's study
in India and then traveled throughout Southeast Asia and Japan, where he studied
and collected art. In the mid 1950s he returned to New York where he was a
student of the abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell at Hunter
College. A member of the United Scenic Artists union, he worked for most of his
career as a set painter for NBC Studios and later, Lincoln Scenic Studios, in
New York.

In 1958, he and his wife Mahbubeh Stave moved to Cranbury from New York
City.

This is Mr. Stave's third exhibition in the Gourgaud Gallery. He was
actively involved in saving the building that houses the Gourgaud Gallery from
demolition in 1966 and he and his wife served on the committee that chose to use
the space as a gallery. Mr. Stave first showed his work in the inaugural
exhibition in 1976 and then again in 1981.

The exhibit is open to the
public. Refreshments will be served.

The pieces in the exhibit will not
be available for purchase, and the exhibit will be removed that evening to allow
for the upcoming exhibit of Watercolorists Unlimited to be displayed for their
regular Sunday opening on June 3.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Welcome to the 2012 Art in the Park Plein Air Series offered by the
Cranbury Arts Council. This is the tenth anniversary of the free plein air event
and offers new locations to paint in the open air from May - October on Sundays
from noon to 4 pm. The series ends in October in Village Park in Cranbury, which
was the very first location that began the series ten years ago. The artists who
participate will have the opportunity to share their work from the series in the
December show in the Cranbury Arts Councl's Gourgaud Gallery located in Town
Hall, Cranbury. The events are rain or shine with no rain dates.